The hope of fans of any independent music artist is that they will be able to achieve a sustainable career, and that their music will find wider appeal amongst the listening public. In the last couple of years, we’ve seen this hope be achieved in big ways for artists like Shovels & Rope, Jason Isbell, Shakey Graves, and now Sturgill Simpson. When an independent artist succeeds, it’s important that we pay attention to what lent to that success so hopefully more worthy artists can achieve similar results, and to ask what that success might mean for music at large to understand where the trends in music are going.

Here are a few observations about what the rousing success of Sturgill Simpson means.

People Still Want To Hear Classic Sounding Country Music

Blake Shelton once famously said, “Nobody wants to listen to their grandpa’s music.” Well apparently he was wrong, and in a big way. And what has been so remarkable about the appeal of Sturgill’s music is the breadth of demographics with which it resonates. As Sturgill Simpson has said many times, he’s regularly complimented by fans who say, “I don’t like country music, but I like you.” Sturgill Simpson is appealing to traditional country fans, to Americana and alt. country fans, to Texas country fans, to indie rock fans, to mainstream fans who are not afraid to dabble in independent music, and to music fans who don’t like country music at all, or at least they didn’t until they heard Sturgill Simpson. In a world of reactionary diametric opposition, especially in music, Sturgill Simpson is a curious consensus builder because he’s classic country, but still fresh and cool. Even the people who don’t like him, they don’t actively hate him. Metamodern Sounds in Country Music was the true embodiment of the “country music must evolve” mantra we hear mainstream artists use to justify their transgressions, but in the true meaning of the phrase. Sturgill Simpson took the old, and made it new again.

Independent Artists Can Make A Huge Impact, Even in Country

Forget that Sturgill Simpson isn’t signed to a major label and isn’t receiving any mainstream radio play, he’s still selling out venues and received a nomination from the Grammy Awards, while independent radio stations and national outlets like NPR keep the Sturgill love pouring in. The next big decision for Sturgill might be whether to sign with one of the major labels who’ve come courting after counting him amongst the fastest-rising stars in country music. Unlike many artists who move to Nashville ripe with talent but unproven in the marketplace, Sturgill should be in a position where he can negotiate his own terms, and even play labels off of each other until he gets the deal he wants. As Sturgill has said in the past, staying in control of his own publishing and creative control would be an imperative no matter who he works with. A major label could help propel Sturgill into the future and may even help him focus more on the music.

But as Sturgill has proven with Metamodern Sounds, he doesn’t need a major label. Simply the strength of his music is support enough for him to build a sustainable career. And if Sturgill can, then so can other independent country artists of our time. With big acts like Zac Brown, Jake Owen, and Keith Urban actively touting Sturgill, he’s like the Chris LeDoux of the 2010’s—totally independent, but with mainstream influence.

Sometimes It’s What You Don’t Do That Is Most Important

Impatience, wanting to release music ASAP, and being eager to sign big deals is what gets many artists in trouble. Though Sturgill Simpson may seem like some sort of overnight sensation in the way he’s rocketed to the top of independent music in such a short period, years of planning and uncompromising attention to details and insistence on doing things his way are what we’re now seeing the results of in his success. It was April of 2012 when Sturgill came out as a solo artist. It then took another 14 months before we saw his first album High Top Mountain. Before and during that time Sturgill said “no” to multiple opportunities placed before him until he knew he could move forward in the way he envisioned for himself, including opportunities that arguably would have been more beneficial for him in the short term. Sturgill signs with the wrong record label, makes an album with the wrong producer or players, and he may not be enjoying the same results we see today.

And one thing that’s not given enough credit is how Sturgill was able to capture people’s attention with his first album High Top Mountain, and then follow it up less than a year later with Metamodern Sounds. That quick turnaround is how he was able to keep his momentum rolling.

Management, & The Team Around An Artist Matters

No offense to Sturgill, but there are other artists out there in the independent music world with the talent to be enjoying similar success as he is today, but they don’t have the right team of people around them to help foster that success. An artist or band can’t make it unless they have a good booking agent, and good manager, sometimes a good producer to work with, and a support team around them of friends and family and fans who help facilitate their dreams instead of weighing them down with obligations and expectations.

Just like you can trace back a lot of Jason Isbell’s recent success to his manager Traci Thomas, Sturgill’s success can be traced back to his manager Marc Dottore (also the manager of Marty Stuart, Kathy Mattea), and both Isbell and Sturgill can thank the support structure of Thirty Tigers–a quasi management/distributor/promotions company that acts similarly to a label but with the artists retaining their rights. Just like Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson benefited from the services of producer Dave Cobb. And Sturgill Simpson has said many times that it was the nudging of his wife that got him back into music when he’d all but written it off on numerous occasions. In the midst of all of this Sturgill success, he also welcomed a son into the world, and has had to juggle those obligations with all the attention and increased obligations of being a successful music artist.

Be Leery of the Underground

You look at artists like Sturgill Simpson, and even more so with acts like Shakey Graves and Shovels & Rope, and you see artists that take a very underground approach to their music. They’re just as underground, if not more underground than many underground artists. So how did these acts rocket to the top when so many artists that are so similar, or that even influence the sound of these bigger acts, are still stuck playing poorly-attended shows and struggling to eek out a sustainable living? It’s because despite all the talk of the support for the music that exists in the underground—the whole family feel and the positive vibes that everyone touts—the behind-the-scenes back biting, the lack of organization and reach, and the typecasting many underground artists receive—fair or not—for being punks with acoustic instruments, erects a hard and fast ceiling over the careers of these underground artists, while in the greater independent music industry, similar acts thrive and prosper.

Of course the talent and expression must be such that it resonates with the greater public like Sturgill Simpson and Shovels & Rope have, but after finding the initial support a band or artist might need to get off the ground, avoiding the underground is what allows an artist to grow. Though performers like Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell enjoy a lot of appeal and even support from the roots and country underground, it was because they didn’t become too intimately involved with the “scene” to where they weren’t limited in their ability to reach the top of the independent industry, or were burdened by trying to keep cliques of fans happy, that they were able to thrive. The underground still can’t point to even one success story where an artist wasn’t just “supported,” but was “launched” like Sturgill has been, while Sturgill was summarily avoided by the underground early in his career.

It Doesn’t Hurt to be Talented and Topical

In the end the reason Sturgill Simpson has done so well is because he’s just really damn good. Nothing can replace or make up for talent. There’s artists for every time—ones who capture the imaginations of fans because they’re offering exactly what the people want to hear at a given moment. Sturgill’s traditional sound mixed with a forward-thinking approach is what music needed right here, right now, and that’s the underlying reason he’s finding such favorable ears.

38 Comments

GregN
December 17, 2014 @
10:29 am

Quick correction: I think you meant Wary of the Underground, not weary (though that could work too!). Just pointing it out because I suspect this article will attract others than the usual suspects in comments. Want you to look good for them!

We all owe a debt to you Trigger for turning us on to Sturgill! So thanks for that. I’d like to think the readers of this very site helped get him off the ground and into the atmosphere he’s in now. I hope he capitalizes on his current popularity and gets to make those final three records the way he wants.

Not a big fan of Dave Cobb’s work, though. This ‘hang out and bang it all out in a few days (or hours)’ approach is fine as far as it goes. Not every track on every album needs to be that way. And the ones that aren’t–on JI’s ‘Southeastern’ especially–sound odd.

But he does elevate to a certain level. As long as one is OK with a less is more approach. To me both Southeastern and Metamodern show the limitations of that approach, but to be fair they also show the benefits.

Overproduction is worse, for sure. I am afraid we are about to see an example of that with Blackberry Smoke’s new album. Dangit!

In my review for “Metamodern Sounds,” I went out of my way to second guess the rushed nature of the project, and I’ve said that about other Dave Cobb projects as well. Also the excessive tape hiss I could do without on many of his recordings. I didn’t really think Isbell’s “Southeastern” suffered from either of those things, but some Dave Cobb projects do. At the same time, it’s hard to doubt his track record and he seemed to capture the right moments better than most.

I really don’t hear the “hiss” on the Cobb recordings that you do, Trigger. I’m apparently swayed by the music and not bothered by “technical issues.” Never-the-less, one would have a shallow argument challenging Cobb’s ear, or success.

I’ve noticed lately that Sturgill has been grumbling a little bit on social media about ‘Metamodern’ being overrated and overhyped. I know he’s just being self-deprecating, but if he seriously considers that album to be mediocre, I can’t wait to see what the hell he comes out with next.

I laughed out loud when I read the title ‘turtles all the way down’ because I immediately recognized the reference. The dude is smart enough (and talented) to keep the content coming”¦as long as he isn’t chin deep with poopy diapers for too long. That’s the way it goes, life ain’t fair and the world is mean…

I think this is a very important article and one that should be read, dissected, and taken to heart by every independent country & roots music artist who’s currently out there. Clearly, Sturgill has blazed a trail, and there is much to learn from his success.

It is my sincere hope that other rising, independent artists can follow in his footsteps to achieve greater success and recognition in the coming months and years. I’m optimistic that this will happen, and I think this is an exciting time to be an independent country music fan.

Speaking of which, there are several artists here in Nashville’s indie scene that I’m currently excited about. One is Kelsey Waldon, for who I can thank SCM for introducing me, despite the fact that she’s local. I think she has something special, and her album ‘The Goldmine’ has really been sneaking up on me lately. I’m eager to see what she will do in the future. (Just one example.)

I enjoy this article very much Trigger. So true, raw talent is just part of it. An artist also needs to surround himself with people who will add to his or hers talent. A good producer, I have now come to appreciate, appears to be imperative to produce a palatable sound. Poor sound quality detracts from a record, this seems to be a problem with many underground artist, even the more popular ones.

The indie phone gazer crowd stole Sturg from “us”. Trouble is, Sturg is one of “them”.
Let’s just hope his third album is free from the analog reverse tape crap at the end of “it ain’t all flowers”. That song is fucking awesome, but am I the only one who fast forwards the end? The beatles did that shit in ’69. It sounded stupid then and it still sounds stupid now. And Sturg’s appreciation of EDM? Keep it to yourself son, the people want to like you! And another thing Sturg, quit being so goddamn “im not this, im not that”. Keep your mouth shut and be mysterious, it’ll all work out in the end. Whether you like it or not you ARE king turd and we like you on shit mountain, it’s just that you seem like you would rather sit on tofu mountain.

In my experience, the “indie phone gazer crowd” is very fickle. Sturgill may be the flavor of the month right now, but pretty soon another new flavor will come along and the trend-hoppers will move on to the next thing.

And by the way, I don’t want to paint all indie rock fans with a broad brush. I think many of them are good people who sincerely care about supporting independent music. But within rock music as a genre (as compared to country music for example) there has always been an emphasis on things like novelty, fashion, and innovation, and within the indie rock music scene specifically, there is a large chunk of fans who value those qualities to a fault in my opinion. Those are the people who will have already lost interest or moved on to something else by the next time Sturgill comes to town.

I think having an uncompromising approach will sustain him. Real is appealing and it has a more lasting effect. But it doesn’t matter anyway. According to him he has 3 albums left then he will drop the Microphone and dissapear into Space.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Sturgill makes 20 more albums, or if he never makes another one. I’m not saying he’s dishonest, but he told an audience a month before “Metamodern” was released that he was quitting music and they’d never see him again.

Hi, Trigger! Just passing by to say that I love this site.
I’m from Brazil and decided to learn a Little more about country music. This site turned out to be a fantastic guide into the genre. Your reviews and articles are very well written, trustful and honest accounts of country music genre.
Thanks to you, I came across Jason Isbell, Eric Church, Gary Allan, Zac Brown Band, Will Hoge, Randy Rogers Band etc…
Thank you for carrying such a good work. You are my country music teacher. 🙂
Ah, I also read the comments. Your readers are great as well. Learn a lot from their comments and insights. Thank you all!